Boston Harbor – May 30, 1936

On May 30, 1936, two army mechanics at Boston Airport took a military airplane for a flight over the harbor. While stunt-flying in the plane, they crashed in Boston Harbor after coming out of a loop.

The men were identified as:

Pvt. 1st Class Robert W. Fancher, 24, of Red Bank, New Jersey. (He has been miss-identified in some news accounts as Robert Tancker.) He’s buried in Greenlawn Cemetery in West Long Branch, New Jersey. (See www.findagrave.com, Memorial #29817757.)

It was not stated which man was piloting the airplane, nor was the type of aircraft specified. When it hit the water several nearby pleasure boats raced to assist, and managed to rescue Pvt. Hallowah who was brought ashore in critical condition. (Later reports stated he was expected to recover.) Pvt. 1/C Francher went to he bottom with the plane, and both were recovered the following day.

Sources:

St. Petersburg Times, (Fla.) “Plane Crashes In Boston; One Dead, one Hurt.”, May 31, 1936